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LA WATCHDOG - Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, is taking flak for his decision not to endorse a candidate for President. Not that it mattered in deep blue California because Harris won 59% of the vote statewide, 65% in the County, and most likely north of 70% in the City.
Rather than dumping on Soon-Shiong, we should be thanking him for rescuing The Times, our paper of record, from the goons in Chicago.
In 2018, Soon-Shiong purchased The Times for $500 million from the owners of the Chicago Tribune. He then increased his investment by expanding the newsroom and funding the operating losses. All told, he has probably invested over $700 million in the paper.
Unfortunately, he bought a pig in a poke that was still recovering from the bankruptcy of its parent company, Tribune Publishing. To help satisfy the creditors, the bankruptcy estate sold the paper’s iconic headquarters across from City Hall. This resulted in the eventual move to El Segundo, 15 miles from City Hall.
The creditors also sold the paper’s 26-acre Olympic printing facility that eventually led to the paper being printed by the Southern California News Group, the owners of The Daily News. This required an early evening deadline, delaying the reporting of evening sporting events. Say goodbye to the Sports section, not a good idea in sports crazy Southern California.
At the time of Soon-Shiong’s purchase, classified and run-of-paper advertising was moving to the digital world, severely impacting the business model that relied on advertising for the bulk of its revenue. Furthermore, circulation was tanking, from 640,000 in 2011 to 275,000 in 2018, a decline of 57%. According to an October filing with the United States Postal Service, average daily circulation is now 96,000, a drop of 65% from 2018.
It also appears that paid electronic circulation is not making up for the shortfall in print related revenues as paid electronic circulation dropped 5% this past year to around 290,000 copies.
The rumor mill says that the paper is losing $30-40 million a year, even after layoffs, that circulation and subscriptions are still heading south, and that advertising is drying up. So, what’s the solution?
Based on the success of The New York Times, paid subscriptions to the print and digital offerings are the way forward. But what does this mean for The Times that has alienated many Angelenos with its far-left tilt and its failure to callout our fiscally irresponsible politicians that occupy the halls of government.
The Times and its owner need to develop a value proposition for Angelenos. In return for our money for either a print or digital subscription, The Times will be our fiscal watchdog. This will require the vigorous oversight of the finances of not only the City, the County, and their many departments, but other major public entities such as Metro, the Department of Water and Power, LAUSD, the Metropolitan Water District, the Homeless Industrial Complex, and other taxpayer supported entities. It should also include oversight of Sacramento, possibly in conjunction with other media organizations throughout the State.
At the same time, the editorial should develop a center left policy while also promoting governmental reform, including the requirement that our governments cannot continue to give away the store to the public sector unions.
Will Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong make a deal with Angelenos? It will be in his and our best interests.
(Jack Humphreville writes LA Watchdog for CityWatch. He is the President of the DWP Advocacy Committee, the Budget and DWP representative for the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, and a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate. He can be reached at: [email protected].)
